MANALAPAN — The owners of Sportika, an athletic training center on Woodward Road, Manalapan, are seeking municipal approval to expand the use of the building to include sports themed social events and sports tournaments.
On Sept. 14, representatives of Field of Dreams LLC (Sportika) appeared before the Planning Board to discuss their application. The discussion is expected to continue at the board’s meeting on Sept. 28.
During the initial hearing, attorney Peter Klouser presented testimony from Sportika CEO Jeffrey Jordan, engineer John Ploskonka, traffic engineer John Rea and attorney Richard Nasca, who has expertise in matters relating to liquor licenses and permitting issues.
Jordan said the operators of the 170,000-square-foot training center are seeking municipal approval to promote and to host soccer and basketball tournament play at the location.
Jordan was not affiliated with the business when it received Planning Board approval two years ago. He said the initial approval for Sportika did not include tournament play, but he said the “showcases” and “shootouts” the facility has been holding since it opened earlier this year are in fact tournaments.
The operators of Sportika are trying to make it clear that tournament play can and will be held at the building, he said.
The operators are also seeking permission to extend Sportika’s hours of operation. The current hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Jordan is asking for permission to open at 5 a.m. to accommodate individuals who want to work out before going to work.
And, the operators of Sportika are seeking approval to remain open on certain days until 4 a.m. to accommodate sports teams, such as adult softball leagues, whose members only have free time after midnight. Jordan said he has been approached by representatives of one such league.
Sportika’s operators are also seeking permission to host what were referred to as sports themed privates parties, including bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, post-prom events and communion receptions, as well as corporate team building events at the training center.
Jordan said that in some cases, a private social affair or a post-prom party could run later than the traditional midnight or 1 a.m. ending that is expected of most social events. In those cases the 4 a.m. closing time (or 2 a.m. or 3 a.m.) would apply.
Sportika’s representatives are seeking approval for alcoholic beverages to be brought on-site by customers through private catering companies. Sportika is also seeking approval to serve food which is prepared off-site to its clients.
“We want to work with catering firms to provide what is needed, prepared food and alcoholic beverages,” Jordan said. “One without the other is not serving our community or meeting our business model.”
When he came before the board, Nasca said alcoholic beverage licensing issues account for 100 percent of his legal practice. Essentially, he said, Sportika wants an outside company to come in to the facility and serve alcoholic beverages.
The serving of alcohol can be permitted in two ways, Nasca said. First, the holder of a liquor license can apply for a catering permit to provide alcohol at a specific event at Sportika (i.e., a wedding) on a specific date. The license holder brings the liquor to the venue and provides it for that day.
Second, a nonprofit charitable organization can apply for a social affair permit to serve alcohol at a specific event, according to Nasca, who said there would be a limit of 25 events per year (total between the two types of permits) during which alcohol could be served at Sportika.
Nasca said Sportika is not seeking permission to allow an individual who is holding a party at the venue to bring in his own liquor.
During his testimony, Jordan asked the Planning Board to grant permission for Sportika to bring in food from outside vendors to serve to the participants of the events that are being held in the facility.
The training center is equipped with vending machines, which Jordan said are not meeting the needs of those who use the building.
Instead, he said a situation has developed in which teenagers are leaving Sportika, walking across the training center’s parking lot to a Wawa convenience store next door, purchasing food and walking back to Sportika.
Jordan suggested that Sportika’s operators might partner with a restaurant that would sell pizza to participants in the building and keep young people from going off the premises for food.
No site improvements are proposed and the proposed uses are permitted in the Special Economic Development zone where Sportika was constructed, according to a public notice regarding the application.
Due to the length of the initial hearing, Planning Board members did not have an opportunity to question Sportika’s representatives.
Closing comments were permitted by Chairwoman Kathryn Kwaak and Manalapan Deputy Mayor Jack McNaboe, who sits on the board, said, “I’m not sold on alcohol and kids” at certain events. “I need to have that clearer in my mind.”
Regarding the applicant’s request to remain open until 4 a.m., McNaboe said, “How do we know who is going to be inside the building? I don’t know that is something we want. How do we know it is not going to be a hangout for people we don’t want here?”
Addressing Jordan, McNaboe said, “what people said (two years ago) was that the original business plan would not work. Here we are seeing a major revision in your business plan. You have been open six months and you are back asking for major changes. I’m having a little trouble understanding why it was not a bait and switch.”
Board member John Castronovo expressed concern about one aspect of the situation, saying, “I think that six months from now, you (Jordan) will be asking for BYOB.”
